Smooth-face elastic fabric



4 June L CHISHQLM SMOOTH FACE ELASTIC FABRIC Filed March 15. 1929 Patented June 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES LESTER B. cnrsnomvr, or WATERBURY,

CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN MILLS 00., OF WATER-BURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION.

SMOOTH-FACE ELASTIC FABRIC.

Application filed March 15, 1929.

This invention relates to an improvement in elastic fabrics and particularly to elastic fabrics designed for use in corsets, girdles, brassieres, and other articles of personal wear. I

The object of this invention is to provide a durable and attractive elastic fabric constructed with particular reference to having one or more smooth unribbed faces which may be placed adjacent to or in contact with the skin without appreciably marking or irritating the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide an elastic fabric having its inner face smooth and its outer face provided with an attractive design.

lVith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in a smooth-face elastic fabric characterized by having a series of parallel, elastic warp-strands of relativelylarge diameter spaced apart to form gaps thcrebetween; a group of lesser-diameter textile warp-threads interposed in thegaps between the said elastic warp-strands; a plurality of filler-threads spanning certain of the gaps between the said elastic warpstrands and also spanning the textile warpthreads therein and interwoven with the textile warp-threads in certain of the other gaps between the said elastic warp-strands; and a plurality of filler-threads spanning the gaps in which the first-mentioned fillerthreads are interwoven and interweaving with the textile warp-threads in the gaps which are spanned by the first-mentioned filler-threads; whereby the gaps between the ridges formed by the large-diameter elastic warp-stram s are spanned by filler-threads to produce a continuous relatively-smooth nonirritat'ing face.

My invention further consists in a smoothface elastic fabric characterized as above and havin certain other features as will be hereinafter described and particularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

F 1 is a broken view of the inner smooth face thereof;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the outer face of an elastic fabric embodying my invention;

Fig. 3 is a. broken enlarged-scale schematic transverse sectional view taken parallel with the filler-threads; and

Fig. 43 is an enlarged-scale schematic broken face view looking toward the smooth Serial No. 347,323.

inner face of the fabric; the threads being spaced apart for purpose of clarity.

It is characteristic of elastic fabrics that the rubber warp-strands therein are of great er diameter than the cotton or silk warp threads so that when the filling-threads are interwoven with both the elastic warpstrands and the smaller intermediate warpstrands, a series of longitudinalribs or ridges standout from the face of the fabric, due to the greater diameter of the elastic warpthreads, so that such a fabric is uncomfortable to the wearer, since the aforesaid ribs will both mark and irritate the skin.

In the form of elastic fabric herein chosen for the illustration of my invention, I employ a series of parallel elastic warp-strands 10 of relatively large size in crosssection and spaced apart to accommodate between them three (more or less) textile warpthreads 11.

The filler-threads or picks running crosswise of the above mentioned warp-strands and warp-threads are interwoven with the latter in repeating cycles of four phases or picks each.

A filler-thread 12 (Fig. 3) overlies and ex tends between alternate pairs of elastic warpstrands 10 as at 18 on the back face of the fabric and also overlies the three (more or less) textile warp-threads between the respective strands of the said alternate pairs of elastic warp strands.

After passing over alternate pairs of elas tic warp-strands and the warp-threads included between the respective strands of each of the said alternate pairs, the said fillerthread 12 is'interwoven as at 1% with the textile warp-threads 11 in the spaces between the said alternate pairs of elastic warp strands 10, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the d 'awings.

The second filler-thread or pick 15 beyond the filler-thread 12 just above described, reaches around the front sides of the elastic warp-strands 10 as at 16, and interweaves with the warp-threads 11 between the said strands 10, as at 17. This regular interweaving of the filler-thread 15 with the elastic warp-strands and the textile warp-threads continues until such time as it is desired to have the said filler-thread 15 emerge upon the front face of the fabric to produce the design effect shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. At this point the said filler-thread 15 then overlies. as at 18, on

the front face of the fabric, alternate pairs of elastic warp-strands 10, together with the warp-threads 11 between the respective strands thereof, as shown in the center portion of Fig. 3. Between the alternate pairs of warp-strands 10 which the said fillerthread 12 overlies, the same is interwoven with the textile warp-threads at 19.

The third filler-thread or pick 20, complementing the filler-thread 12, overlies as at 21, on the back face of the fabric, the spaces between the pairs of elastic warpstrands 10 which are not overlain by the said tiller-thread 12. In the spaces between the pairs of elastic warp-strands which are overlain by the filler-thread 12 the lillerthread 20 is interwoven with the textile warp-threads 11.

A fourth filler-thread or pick 22, complementing the tiller-thread 15, reaches around the front sides of the elastic warpstrands 10 and interweaves with the warpthreads 11 between the said strands in the same manner that the filler-thread 15 before referred to is interwoven. This regular interweaving of the filler-thread 22 with the elastic warp-strands 10 and the textile warpthreads 11 continues until such time as it desired to have the said filler-thread 22 emerge upon the front face of the fabric to complement the filler-thread 15 in producing the design effect shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. At this point the said fillerthread 22 then overlies as at 23, on the front face of the fabric, the space between the elastic warpstrands 10 which are not overlain by the reaches 18 of the filler-thread 15. In the spaces between the said warp-strands which the said filled-thread 15 does overlie, the said filler-thread 22 is intervoven with the textile warp-threads 11, all as clearly shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings.

Another cycle of weaving now takes place starting with the filler-thread 12 and so on indefinitely.

By reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings, which shows the front face of the fabric bearing a block design, it will be noted that there is a space between the groups of designs in which the design-producing fillerthreads 15 and 22 are not required to appear upon the front face of the fabric to produce a design effect. In these spaces the said filler-threads 15 and 22 are merely interwoven in any approved manner to provide a background for the designs.

It will be obvious that the number of textile warp-threads 11 between the elastic warp-strands 10 may be varied in number and also that the weaving cycles may eonsist of more or less than four phases or picks each.

I claim:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a smo0th-face elastic fabric comprising a series of parallel spaced-apart elastic warpstrands of relatively-large diameter; a group of lesser-diameter textile warpthreads interposed between the said elastic warp-strands; a plurality of filler-threads overlying a group of two or more of the said elastic warp-strands, together with textile warp-threads therebetween and interwoven with the textile warp-threads on either side of the said group of elastic warp-strands; and a plurality of filler-threads overlying the groups of textile warp-threads with which the first-mentioned filler-threads are interwoven and also overlying the elastic warpthreads flanking the same and interwoven with the textile warp-threads spanned by the first-mentioned filler-threads; whereby the gaps between the ridges formed by the large diameter elastic warp-strands are spanned by filler-threads to produce a continuous relatively-smooth non-irritating face.

2. A smooth-face elastic fabric as defined in claim 1 and having additional tiller-threads normally interwoven with the elastic warpstrands and textile warp-threads and periodically emerging upon the face of the fabric opposite its smooth face and overlying groups of two or more elastic warp-strands, together with the textile warp-threads between the respective strands thereof to produce a design effect.

3:3. A smooth-face elastic fabric as defined. in claim 1 and having alternate filler-threads or picks respectively exposed upon the back and front faces of the fabric to respectively produce the smooth surface on the back face and a design effect upon the front face.

l. As a new article of manufacture, a smooth-face elastic fabric comprising a series of parallel spaced-apart elastic arpstrands of relatively-large diameter; a group of lesser-diameter textile warpthreads interposed between the said elastic warp-strands; a plurality of filler-threads spanning alternate spaces between the said elastic warp strands together with the textile warpthreads in such alternate spaces and interwoven with the textile warptlu'eads in the spaces intermediate the said alternate spaces; and a plurality of filler-threads overlying the groups of textile warp-threads with which the first-mentioned filler-threads are interwoven and also overlying the elastic warp-threads flanking the latter and interwoven with the textile warp-threads spanned by the first mentioned filler-threads; whereby the gaps between the ridges formed by the largealiameter elastic warp-threads are spanned by filler-threads to produce a continuous relatively-smooth non-irritating face.

5. A smooth-face elastic fabric as defined in claim t and having additional fillerthreads normally interwoven with the elastic warp-strands and textile warp-threads and periodically emerging upon the face of the fabric opposite its smooth face and overlying alternate spaces between the elastic warpstrands, together with the textile warpthreads therebetween to produce a design effect.

6. A smooth-face elastic fabric as defined in claim 4 and having alternate filler-threads or picks respectively exposed upon the back and front faces of the fabric to respectively produce a smooth surface on the back face and a design effect upon the front face.

7. As a new article of nianufacture a smooth-face elastic fabric comprising a series of parallel elastic warp-strands of relativelylarge diameter spaced apart to form gaps therebetween; a group of lesser-diameter textile warpthreads interposed in the gaps between the said elastic warp-strands; a pluralit'y of filler-threads spanning certain of the gaps between the said elastic warp-strands and also spanning the textile warp-threads therein and interwoven with the textile warpthreads in certain of the other gaps between the said elastic warp-strands; and a plurality of fillerthreads spanning the gaps in which the first-mentioned filler-threads are interwoven and interweaving with the textile Warpthreads in the gaps which are spanned by the firstanentioned filler-threads; whereby the gaps between the ridges formed by the largediameter elastic warp-strands are spanned by filler-threads to produce a continuous relatively-smooth non-irritating face.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification.

LESTER B. OHISHOLM. 

